Standards
79 of 95 national standards, unit by unit.
The 2021 National Standards for Personal Financial Education were published jointly by the Jump$tart Coalition and the Council for Economic Education, in six topics benchmarked at grades 4, 8, and 12. Below is where every Financial Foundations™ unit lands, and, just as plainly, the 16 standards the program does not yet reach.
17 / 17
Earning Income
13 / 15
Spending
15 / 16
Saving
13 / 14
Investing
13 / 16
Managing Credit
8 / 17
Managing Risk
Unit-level crosswalk, version 1.0, September 2026. A standard is listed under a unit when one or more of its activities teach the concept the standard names. Download the full crosswalk with the standard text →
Georgia
What Georgia requires, and where Financial Foundations™ fits.
The graduation requirement
Georgia’s HB 681 (2022) requires a course in financial literacy for students in eleventh or twelfth grade, beginning with the 2024–25 school year. Band 4 (Units 4.1–4.9) is built for that course: income, borrowing, credit, investing, insurance, paying for college or trade school, student loans, and a launch plan.
K–8
Georgia’s social studies standards carry economics and personal-finance strands in every grade from kindergarten up (SSKE1–4 through SS8E3). Bands 1–3 cover that ground: needs and wants, earning, saving, spending choices, budgeting, credit. The history-bound economics standards in grades 4–5 and the world-economics standards in grades 6–8 are outside the program’s scope, and the table below says so.
The Georgia crosswalk, code by code
Of the 35 Georgia economics and personal-finance standards K–12, 21 are addressed, 9 partially, and 5 not yet. Every code, with the activities that carry it ↓
The crosswalk
Every unit, and the standards it teaches.
Codes read topic, benchmark grade, standard number. “Saving 8-2” is the second grade-8 Saving standard.
Band 1 · Money Explorers
Grades K–2 · grade 4 benchmarks
| Unit | Standards addressed |
|---|---|
| 1.1 What Is Money? | Earning Income 4-3Earning Income 4-6Spending 4-2Spending 4-6Saving 4-1 |
| 1.2 Needs and Wants | Spending 4-1Spending 4-3Spending 4-4Spending 4-5 |
| 1.3 Saving for Something | Saving 4-1Saving 4-2Saving 4-3Saving 4-4Investing 4-2 |
| 1.4 Sharing and Giving | Earning Income 4-6Spending 4-2Spending 4-4 |
Band 2 · Money Builders
Grades 3–5 · grade 4 benchmarks
| Unit | Standards addressed |
|---|---|
| 2.1 The Earning Engine | Earning Income 4-1Earning Income 4-2Earning Income 4-3Earning Income 4-4Earning Income 4-7 |
| 2.2 Smart Spending | Spending 4-1Spending 4-3Spending 4-4Spending 4-5Spending 4-6 |
| 2.3 The Saving System | Saving 4-1Saving 4-2Saving 4-3Saving 4-4Saving 4-5Investing 4-1Investing 4-2 |
| 2.4 Budgeting Basics | Spending 4-1Spending 4-3Saving 4-2Managing Risk 4-4 |
| 2.5 Money and Community | Earning Income 4-5Earning Income 4-7Spending 4-2Saving 4-4 |
Band 3 · Money Systems
Grades 6–8 · grade 8 benchmarks
| Unit | Standards addressed |
|---|---|
| 3.1 How Money Systems Work | Spending 8-1Saving 8-3Saving 8-5Saving 8-6Managing Credit 8-1Managing Credit 8-4 |
| 3.2 The Real Paycheck | Earning Income 8-1Earning Income 8-2Earning Income 8-3Earning Income 8-4Earning Income 8-5 |
| 3.3 Credit and Borrowing | Managing Credit 8-1Managing Credit 8-2Managing Credit 8-3Managing Credit 8-4Managing Credit 8-5Managing Credit 8-6Managing Credit 8-7Managing Risk 8-1 |
| 3.4 Spending with Strategy | Spending 8-1Spending 8-2Spending 8-3Spending 8-4 |
| 3.5 Saving and the Time Factor | Saving 8-1Saving 8-2Saving 8-4Saving 8-5Investing 8-1Investing 8-2Investing 8-4Investing 8-5Investing 8-6Investing 8-7 |
| 3.6 Sai's Financial Blueprint (capstone) | Earning Income 8-3Spending 8-1Saving 8-1Managing Credit 8-6Managing Risk 8-1 |
Band 4 · Money Mastery
Grades 9–12 · grade 12 benchmarks
| Unit | Standards addressed |
|---|---|
| 4.1 Your Income Life | Earning Income 12-1Earning Income 12-2Earning Income 12-3Earning Income 12-4Earning Income 12-5 |
| 4.2 The Real Cost of Borrowing | Managing Credit 12-1Managing Credit 12-2Managing Credit 12-3Managing Credit 12-5Managing Credit 12-6 |
| 4.3 Building and Protecting Your Credit | Managing Credit 12-1Managing Credit 12-2Managing Risk 12-4 |
| 4.4 Investing Before 25 | Saving 12-4Investing 12-1Investing 12-2Investing 12-3Investing 12-4Investing 12-5 |
| 4.5 Protecting What You Build | Saving 12-3Managing Risk 12-1Managing Risk 12-2Managing Risk 12-3Managing Risk 12-4Managing Risk 12-5Managing Risk 12-6 |
| 4.6 The Blueprint (capstone) | Spending 12-1Spending 12-2Saving 12-1Saving 12-2Managing Credit 12-4 |
| 4.7 Paying for College or Trade School | Earning Income 12-3Spending 12-5Managing Credit 12-4 |
| 4.8 Student Loans and Smart Borrowing | Managing Credit 12-1Managing Credit 12-4Managing Credit 12-5Managing Credit 12-6 |
| 4.9 The Launch Plan | Earning Income 12-3Earning Income 12-5Spending 12-1Managing Credit 12-4Managing Risk 12-2 |
Georgia Standards of Excellence · social studies
Every Georgia economics and personal-finance code, K–12.
Read against the GaDOE standards document (approved 2016, updated July 2026). Addressed means the standard’s main idea is taught by the named activities. Partial means one or more lettered elements are not yet taught, and the note says which. Not addressed is stated, not hidden.
| Code | Grade | Standard | Units | Activities that carry it | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SSKE1 | K | Describe the work that people do (police officer, farmer, doctor, teacher…).Earning by working is taught; the catalogue of occupations is not. | 1.1 | Earning | partial |
| SSKE2 | K | Explain that people earn income by working. | 1.1 | Earning · My First Money Day | addressed |
| SSKE3 | K | Explain how money is used to purchase goods and services; identify U.S. coins and bills as currency. | 1.1 | Money Is a Tool · Coins and Bills · Spending | addressed |
| SSKE4 | K | Explain that people must make choices because they cannot have everything they want. | 1.2 | Need or Want? · Sorting Day · First, Then | addressed |
| SS1E1 | 1 | Identify goods that people make and services that people provide for each other.No Band 1 activity distinguishes goods from services. | — | — | not addressed |
| SS1E2 | 1 | Explain that scarcity is when unlimited wants are greater than limited resources.The idea is taught through choosing; the word scarcity is not. | 1.2 | It Depends · The Waiting Shelf | partial |
| SS1E3 | 1 | Describe how people are both producers and consumers.Producers and consumers arrive in Band 2 (Unit 2.1). | — | — | not addressed |
| SS1E4 | 1 | Explain that people earn income by working and must make choices about how much to save and spend. | 1.11.3 | Earning · What Is Saving? · If I Spend My Savings | addressed |
| SS2E1 | 2 | Explain that because of scarcity, people must make choices that result in opportunity costs. | 1.21.3 | First, Then · The Waiting Shelf · If I Spend My Savings | addressed |
| SS2E2 | 2 | Identify ways goods and services are allocated (price, majority rule, contests, lottery, first-come…). | — | — | not addressed |
| SS2E3 | 2 | Explain that people use money to obtain goods and services and how money makes trade easier than barter. | 1.1 | Before Money · Money You Cannot See | addressed |
| SS2E4 | 2 | Describe the costs and benefits of personal saving and spending choices. | 1.31.2 | Patience Pays Off · If I Spend My Savings · It Depends | addressed |
| SS3E1 | 3 | Define and give examples of the four productive resources: natural, human, capital, entrepreneurship.Entrepreneurship and human resources are taught; the four-resource model is not. | 2.1 | Is This a Real Business? · From Hobby to Income | partial |
| SS3E2 | 3 | Explain that governments provide goods and services in a market economy and pay for them through taxes. | 2.12.5 | What Taxes Buy · Follow the Dollar · The Community Subscription | addressed |
| SS3E3 | 3 | Give examples of interdependence and trade; explain how price allocates goods and services.Allocation by price is taught; local/national/international production and currencies are not. | 2.22.5 | The Best Price Hunt · Unit Price Math · Follow the Dollar | partial |
| SS3E4 | 3 | Explain opportunity cost as it relates to a saving or spending choice. | 2.22.3 | The Trade-Off Problem · Why Saving Is Hard · Short and Long | addressed |
| SS4E1 | 4 | Use economic concepts (trade, opportunity cost, specialization…) to illustrate historical events.History-bound; outside the program's scope. | — | — | not addressed |
| SS4E2 | 4 | Identify the elements of a personal budget (income, expenditures, saving) and why spending and saving decisions matter. | 2.4 | What Is a Budget? · Fixed or Variable? · 50 / 30 / 20 · Planned vs Actual | addressed |
| SS5E1 | 5 | Use economic concepts to illustrate historical events (rationing, cattle trails, the assembly line…).History-bound; outside the program's scope. | — | — | not addressed |
| SS5E2 | 5 | Describe the four sectors of the U.S. economy: household, business, bank, government.Household, bank, and government functions are taught; the four-sector model as a whole is not named. | 2.52.3 | Follow the Dollar · The Community Subscription · Money That Grows | partial |
| SS5E3 | 5 | Describe how consumers and producers interact: competition and prices, earning by selling labor, entrepreneurs taking risks. | 2.12.2 | Sort the Earner · Is This a Real Business? · The Best Price Hunt | addressed |
| SS5E4 | 5 | Identify the elements of a personal budget and why spending and saving decisions matter. | 2.4 | What Is a Budget? · Planned vs Actual | addressed |
| SS6E13 | 6 | Live within one's income: income is limited; a budget plans spending and saving; reasons to save; uses and costs of credit. | 3.13.23.33.5 | Building Your First Budget · Where Did $177 Go? · What Borrowing Actually Costs · Emergency Fund First | addressed |
| SS7E10 | 7 | Live within one's income (same elements as SS6E13). | 3.13.23.33.5 | As SS6E13 | addressed |
| SS8E3 | 8 | Principles of personal money management: income as the starting point, a household budget, savings, the uses and risks of debt. | 3.23.33.53.6 | Pay Stub Mastery · The Borrowing Decision Framework · What Is Your Savings Rate? · Sai's Financial Blueprint | addressed |
| SSEPF1 | HS | Analyze major life decisions with a rational decision-making model: post-high-school paths, paying for them (HOPE, loans, grants…), FAFSA documents, renting vs buying, generational wealth. | 4.74.94.64.2 | Three Paths, Side by Side · The Document Hunt · SAI, Not EFC · Frame the Choice · The 18-to-30 Money Map · The Biggest Loan Most People Take | addressed |
| SSEPF2 | HS | Income as a scarce resource: income types, a sample Form 1040, the paystub, a personal budget, reconciling a checking account, net worth.Completing a sample 1040 and reconciling a checking account are not yet activities. | 4.14.64.9 | Four Ways to Get Paid · Brackets, Marginal, Effective · Your Personal Income Statement · Net Worth · Your First-Year Budget | partial |
| SSEPF3 | HS | How the financial system channels funds from savers to investors: functions of money, institutions compared, payment methods, savings and investment options, speculative investments. | 4.44.23.1 | What You Actually Own · Roth or Traditional · Crypto, Meme Stocks and FOMO · Who Is Really Selling You Money? · Inside a Bank | addressed |
| SSEPF4 | HS | How interest rates affect consumer decisions: rates compared across lenders, APR, amortization, simple vs compound, nominal vs real.Amortization is shown through the loan projection tool rather than a mortgage schedule. | 4.24.44.8 | Read Before You Sign · The Math of Exploitation · The Compound Interest Clock · The Silent Killer · The Projection Tool | addressed |
| SSEPF5 | HS | How taxation affects spending and saving: income, sales, property, capital-gains, and estate taxes; progressive, regressive, proportional.Income and payroll taxes are taught; the other tax types and the progressive/regressive distinction are not. | 4.1 | Brackets, Marginal, Effective · The 15.3% Nobody Mentions | partial |
| SSEPF6 | HS | Costs and benefits of credit: credit report and score, score components, a sample loan application, revolving vs installment, bankruptcy. | 4.34.2 | The Number That Follows You · Reading the Report · The 30% Rule · Hard and Soft · When Starting Over Makes Sense | addressed |
| SSEPF7 | HS | How insurance and risk management protect against loss: why people buy it, the types, deductibles and premiums, insurability. | 4.5 | Risk Is Real · Health Insurance, Decoded · What You Are Actually Buying · The Cheap One Nobody Buys | addressed |
| SSEPF8 | HS | How workers' earnings are determined: workplace skills, a social-media footprint, investment in education and training.The social-media footprint element is not yet an activity. | 4.14.9 | Human Capital · Research, Ask, Counter, Close · Macon's Career Pivot · Research Your Path | partial |
| SSEPF9 | HS | How consumers are protected by rules and regulations: agencies, lodging complaints, key consumer legislation.Rights are exercised in two activities; the agencies and the named Acts are not taught. | 4.34.5 | Disputing an Error · Reading the Fine Print | partial |
| SSEPF10 | HS | Sources of and protection against identity theft; investment scams. | 4.53.3 | Spot It, Stop It · Scams Built for You · Locking the Doors · Naiya's Close Call · When Someone Uses Your Name | addressed |
Standard text summarized from the Georgia Standards of Excellence for Social Studies, © Georgia Department of Education, cited for alignment purposes. WealthWise Kids is not affiliated with GaDOE. Unit-level crosswalk, version 1.0, September 2026.
The 16 standards not yet addressed
They cluster in two places: Managing Credit and Managing Risk at the grade 4 benchmark (Bands K–2 and 3–5 contain no borrowing or insurance content), and Managing Risk at grade 8 (insurance is introduced in Band 9–12, Unit 4.5). These are on the curriculum roadmap; nothing on this site claims otherwise.
Standards text © Jump$tart Coalition & Council for Economic Education, quoted in the download for alignment purposes. WealthWise Kids is not affiliated with either organization.